Forum

Wylie
I think that for any premier cup final the the grounds with the best playing and spectating facilities should be top of the list.
Based on what I've seen and heard this year, the best pitches seem to be at Waringstown, Downpatrick and Comber. Lets face it, most people want to see runs galore so give the players the best chance...
I don't mind 120 plays 110 in a tight one but I'm a purist, the modern way is boundaries and the bowlers getting hammered everywhere. I think Shaw's Bridge has tended to favour the bowlers in the past?
Those three grounds are also excellent grounds for watching, which is probably a consequence of them being 'cricket' grounds and not sharing with another sport.
Stormont is obviously capable of producing good pitches but tends not to for the club game, and it also lacks atmosphere without a couple of thousand spectators!
This email is not intended to knock anyone elses facilities, but when it comes to a final serious decisions should be made.
As far as the 'when' is concerned, I would have thought a Friday evening or Sunday afternoon like last year would have been ideal.
Without a sponsor, the competition seems to have been pushed to one side which in my opinion is completely the opposite of what should happen, give it a high priority and try and attract a new sponsor to the table.

re wylie id personally play both finals on same day at either Downpatrick or Saintfield or Newforge superb grounds with good bar facilities close to the action which will surely add to the great action and hopefully make the host club a lot of cash .ps and even if Dundrum wernt in final ill be at the games

Due to circumstances beyond control Saintfield Cricket Club require a quality player/coach for the remainder of the 2011 season. Please phone on 07767271366 for further details.
Thank you
Noel McCarey
Saintfield Cricket Club
Co Down
N Ireland

I definitely do not condone the swearing at a 14 year old, your right its disgusting. I'll have a word with the guy who i likely suspect it was. And tell him he needs to think more carefully when in that moment. In fact i'll be telling all my guys that.

I was just going by what my wicket keeper told me and what others in the field also said about the LBW being pretty certain.

I have a lot of respect for numerous Academy players and indviduals and have always enjoyed competitive games.

No point getting into tit for tat arguments.

OK guys both sides have had their say so let's move on. We have to live with "friendly umpires" and we all know the challenges, the problems and the potential damage to club relations and young players. We live in the hope that people learn from their mistakes, including young players (who are not all angels) and that the 'spirit of the game' will come through. Like I said we all live in the hope!

JT.

Thanks for your well thought out and adult response to the issue of swearing at a 14 year old. The turning down of an LBW appeal is clearly grounds for such a disgusting outburst. It marred what was a great game of cricket.

I was scoring the entire game and didn’t hear any such singing you speak of. Yes, when a catch went down there was a cheer from one of our 13 year old players, who was immediately reprimanded by a club official.

You clearly missed the point I was making.

Can I ask Local Cricket Follower when and where he thinks the T20 Cup Final should be played?

As skipper of Academy 2s I have had some good games with Victoria. There have been occasions when both sides have crossed the line as it where (No 4 or 6 pun intended). I could take time to de-construct your post JT as a large number of the points are, shall we say, more than slightly subjective and I do not take kindly to the inaccuracies that it contains. However life goes on and I am not up for a slanging match.

I was at game on Wednesday and must say that I was horrified at the abusive language and aggression aimed at a 14 year old umpire who was doing a sterling job. He had not been briefed to deny LBWs or anything like that, but even if he had I can't see any possible justification to speak to a child in that manor. I'm sure the player who hurled the abuse regrets it now, but really there can be no excuse for it.

It is something I hope to never see again on the field but sadly the way the game is going I am concerned it may become a regular occurance.

JT - the "spirit" lives on. I recall captaining a Ballymena 4s versus Downpatrick many years ago when their captain, at the non-strikers end berated his young umpire for giving a second LBW with the words "f***s**e" - you've already give one". He was less than impressed when I asked him which Law covered the "quotas" for LBWs. The problem arises when there as so few adults playing so young guys are press-ganged into umpiring or indeed scoring - an art that young guys don't seem to learn. The only question I would ask JT - if you weren't at the game how can you say the guy was "plumb"?

In response to Brian Kelso's i am the Captain of the Victoria third 11, unfortunately on Tuesday night i was unable to play due to other commitments. I am sorry to hear of this which you speak of.

But i do not feel that we should be so scathing of Victoria from your own view. I myself have just last season seen the actions of Academy first hand at times, a 4 which got signaled a 6 in the last game of the season, when i was on the boundary and even when your guys gathered round and clearly the mark was before the line it was ignored. Also when travelled down to yourself, one of your guys clearly gloved one and didnt walk and the umpire in question didnt give it, when one of my guys asked in a normal manner things got a bit heated. Once again Academy actions overshadowing the VCC ones.

Also on the night in question which you speak of there were other events which you havent mentioned.. firstly the guy was plum LBW, you speak of the spirit of cricket, if it had of been played in the Spirit of Cricket he should of been given out. I always tell my boys who go out to umpire if you think its out give it out if not then dont. Another point, i was told that whenever my boys dropped catches or so, the Academy "young guns" on the side cheered and so on. Also they were singing other songs "Victoria are this and that".. "Mon the Ports".. so Brian lets not throw stones at glass houses.

It was a good close game. I am sad i wasnt there.

JT.

I’m glad davy mcd vcc had an enjoyable debut for Victoria III on Wednesday evening in a game played “in the right spirit”. It is a pity he wasn’t playing for Victoria III v Academy IV the previous evening when he would have witnessed at least one of the Victoria players direct the most foul and abusive language at our 14 year old umpire. I would have liked to have read his thoughts on the spirit of that game.

It is not the first time this season that opposition players have tried to bully and insult the younger members of our 4th XI. With all the talk of how to get people playing and involved with cricket, maybe some people need to take a look at themselves. What sort of example is that to set to up and coming players?

Academy entered a 4th XI this season with the team consisting of 2 or 3 old hands and 8 or 9 under 15s so it is inevitable that youngsters will have to umpire at some stage.

Wow, I see the NCU are going all out this year with the T20 promotion - final on a Tuesday evening at Shaw's Bridge!

Can I just say what a disgrace it is that Clogher Cricket Club has been vandalised AGAIN! This must come to an end and hopefully the Police can find these thugs and some sort of punishment is handed out.

Re: James

They were split in to two separate meetings at the first meeting, one for current Premier/Section 1 clubs and one for Section2/3 as we recognise that some of the issues are different. Then we brought them all together to discuss their findings, a summary of the various issues raised is on the NCU website. Another meeting is planned for later this month before we go out to clubs to discuss before the AGM.

Thanks Wylie
Let me be clear firstly that I think any initiative such as this is to be applauded and is required.
I do have issues with the committee however as it is apparent to me, as a cricket watcher in the NCU that trying to marry the aspirations of say North Down and Ards on any committee is a nonsense, or PSNI and Waringstown for that matter.
Surely we should be splitting the Premier League and the rest or Premier 1 and 2 from the 3rd and 4th tier. I mean what do they have in common?